On July 22, the Buckner Family Hope Center at Bachman Lake in Dallas hosted its first Buckner Market. This market gives families the opportunity to buy household items, toiletries and tools with their earned Buckner bucks. Families earn Buckner bucks by attending educational classes, participating in family coaching and other activities geared toward achieving self-sufficiency for their families.

This year, 37 families attended the Buckner Market to use their earned Buckner bucks. In addition, children had a place to play and do other activities that encouraged healthy teamwork and memory skills while their parents shopped.

For one mom, the Buckner Market meant she could purchase mattresses for her family. They were sleeping on wooden beds with no mattresses and she was looking forward to waking up with no back pain.

For another mom, she simply appreciated the time to shop by herself.

“Thank you for giving me this experience to come shop for items my family really needs and having an event for my three children," she told Ricardo Brambila, Family Hope Center director. "This allowed me to shop alone, I have not shopped alone for eight years.”